Polymer Engineering and Science articles from January 2009

Polymer Engineering and Science archives from January 2009

Microstructure-thermal property relationship of high trans-1,4-poly (butadiene) produced by anionic polymerization of 1,3-butadiene using an initiator composed of alkyl aluminum, n-butyl lithium, and barium alkoxide.(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Poly (butadiene)-Containing polymers are widely used to improve the viscoelastic properties of composed materials such as tires (1-3), engineering plastics (4), adhesives (5), (6), and modified asphalt (7). The poly...

Processing/structure/property relationships for artificial wood made from stretched PP/wood-fiber composites.(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Competition in high volume markets has focused the attention on low-priced materials that offer a more favorable strength-to-weight ratio. In this respect, plastic/woodfiber composites (PWC) are expected to constitute the most...

Specific interactions in ternary system quaternized polysulfone/mixed solvent.(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Polysulfones (PSFs), an important class of materials due to their structure, physical properties, and applications, are charecterized by good optical properties, high thermal and chemical stability, mechanical strength,...

Toughening modification of PLLA/PBS blends via in situ compatibilization.
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION In recent years, biodegradable polymers such as poly ([epicilon]-caprolactoen) (PCL) (1), (2), poly(lactic adicd) (PLA) (3), (6), polyhydroxyalknoates (PHAs) (7), and poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) (8), (9) have been...

Evolution of rheological properties and morphology development during crosslinking of polyolefin elastomers and their TPV blends with polypropylene.(thermophotovoltaic)(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Blending of polypropylene (PP) with elastomeric poly-olefins, such as ethylene propylene rubber, ethylene-propylene diene monomer, and more recently ultra-low-density metallocene or single-site catalyzed...

Generation of low-density high-performance poly(arylene ether sulfone) foams using a benign processing technique.(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Polymeric foams are one important class of lightweight materials under investigation because of their high strength to weight ratio. Polymeric foams can also posses other attractive features such as low moisture absorption,...

The morphology and mechanical properites of sodium alginate based electrospun poly(ethylene oxide) nanofibers.(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Electrospinning is a simple and effective fabrication technique for producing randomly oriented nano- to microscale fiber mats (1-3). These electrospun mats consist of ultra-fine fibers with high specific surface area and have...

Simulation of chemical kinetics of elastomer crosslinking by organic peroxides.(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION The general mechanism of peroxide crosslinking is widely accepted (1-3). Upon heating, the peroxide decomposes into the primary alkoxy or other radicals, which may further react to secondary radicals. These radicals may then...

A multi-stream flow technique to obtain isotropic texture in extruded thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer melts.(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) are a unique class of polymers that maintain an ordered structure in the melt phase similar to that exhibited by low molecular weight nonpolymeric liquid crystal compounds in the liquid phase....

Tailoring properties of styrene butadiene rubber nanocomposite by various nanofillers and their dispersion.(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION The 21st century promises to be the domain of nanotechnology. An integral part of these developments would be the unforeseen advancements in composite technology rendered possible by the incorporation of nanofillers into...

A novel two-component physical gel based on interaction between poly(acrylic acid) and 6-deoxy-6-amino-[beta]-cyclodextrin.(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION In the past 10 years, supramolecular hydrogels resulting from the inclusion complexation of cyclodextrins (CDs) with other polymers have attracted much attention because of their potential applications in materials science and...

Analysis of mold insert fabrication for the processing of microfluidic chip.(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION In the past decades, there has been an explosion of activity in the field of microfluidic chip. Research and development on transport phenomena in micro-and nano-fluidic channel networks have been a frontier in fluid dynamics....

Friction and wear behavior of the hybrid PTFE/cotton fabric composites filled with Ti[O.sub.2] nanoparticles and modified Ti[O.sub.2] nanoparticles.(polytetrafluoroethylene)(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Nanoparticles are often used in polymer composites as additives to improve the tribological performance of the materials (1-8). One of the distinct advantages of nano composites over microcomposites lies in that the...

Effect of UV radiation and pro-oxidant on PP biodegradability.(ultraviolet radiation, polypropylene)(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Over the years, the volume of domestic and industrial waste generated by modern society has increased exponentially, leading to serious environmental problems, in particular, because the number of available space (land-fills)...

Wood-thermoplastic composites manufactured using beetle-killed spruce from Alaska.(Technical report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION In Alaska, the most damaging natural occurrence to the forests south of the Alaska Range, is the spruce bark beetle (SBB), which attacks white (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), sitka (Picea sitchensis (Bong) Carriere), and Lutz...

Impact of cooling method and incoming sheet quality on final part surface quality in thick sheet paint film thermoformed parts.(Report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Automotive suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are implementing thick sheet thermoformed components in place of injection molded and painted components in some automotive exterior ornamentation applications....

"Barbed nanowires" from polymers via electrospinning.(Report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION In electrospinning, a strong electrical field is applied to a droplet formed from a polymer solution or polymer melt at the tip of a die acting as one of the electrodes. The charging of the fluid leads to a conical deformation...

Pressure solidification of amorphous thermoplastics.(Report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Processing thermoplastic polymers means to change the aggregate state of the material several times. For instance in injection molding, the material has to be molten first. After injection the material cools down and freezes....

Effects of castor oil, glycol semi-ester, and polymer concentration on the properties of waterborne polyurethane dispersions.(Report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Polyurethane (PU) possesses many superior properties, such as high mechanical strength and toughness, good resistance to chemical attacks and mechanical wear, and excellent adhesion and extensibility. These properties are...

Dynamic reaction involving surface modified waste ground rubber tire powder/polypropylene.(Report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Chemical modifications of polymeric materials are of great importance as they often produce new materials that cannot be prepared or are costly to prepare by conventional technologies. These methods are also used to improve...

Rheological study of aqueous dispersions of in situ gelable thermosensitive polymer nanogels.(Report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Nanogels are crosslinked polymer gels, usually occurring as well dispersed nanoparticles is aqueous meida (1). The nanogel particles possess an average diameter in the range of 1-1000 nm. Similar to conventional polymeric...

Synthesis and properties of poly (sodium acrylate-co-2-acryloylamino-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid)/attapulgite as a salt-resistant superabsorbent Composite.(Report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Superabsorbents, as crosslinked hydrophilic polymers, have the ability to absorb and retain large amounts of aqueous solution and the absorbed solution is hardly removed even under certain load. Therefore, they have been...

Thermoforming triangular troughs.(Report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION The thermoforming process takes uniformly thin polymer sheets and forms them into usable products. The modern thermoforming process has four phases: free forming, plug-assisted forming, constrained forming, and straight...

Study of crystal structure of (Polyvinylidene fluoride/clay) nanocomposite films: effect of process conditions and clay type.(Report)
January 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Polymer/Clay nanocomposites have been the focus of significant attention in recent years and new applications are introduced progressively. This is mostly because a small amount of nanoclay enhances significantly some...